ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 275274
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| Date: | Tuesday 8 February 2022 |
| Time: | c. 10:00 |
| Type: |  Cessna A188B AGwagon C |
| Owner/operator: | Van Den Berg Lugbespuiting |
| Registration: | ZS-JDH |
| MSN: | 18802275 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Birnamwood, Merrivale, KwaZulu-Natal -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Barland Airfield |
| Barland Airfield | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The Cessna A188B aircraft was engaged in a crop-spraying operation on a maize field near Howick Airfield in KwaZulu-Natal. The pilot took off from Barland Airfield with the intention to land back at the same airfield.
The pilot stated that he took off earlier that morning to spray field 1; thereafter, he returned to Barland to refill the crop-spraying agent so as to spray field 2. He then returned to Barland after spraying field 2 to refill the crop-spraying agent in preparation to spray field 3. On his descent to spray field 3, the pilot made a quick assessment and noticed that his south-easterly direction of spray was on a steep uphill which was likely to cause a hazardous situation. He then decided to climb to approximately 150 feet (ft) above ground level (AGL) for a more suitable spray direction (i.e. south-westerly). During a left-side turn towards the intended spray area whilst resetting the agricultural navigation computer (AG-NAV), the pilot did not notice a blue gum tree that was 15 metres (m) ahead of the aircraft’s flight path. The pilot stated that by the time he noticed the tree, he rolled wings level and, seconds later, the left wing impacted the tree which caused the aircraft to roll to the left and pitch down. The pilot then applied full right rudder and turned the control column to the right whilst applying back pressure with the intention to recover the aircraft, but he was unsuccessful. The aircraft continued to descend and impacted the maize field (field 4) about 200m from the tree. The aircraft skidded on the ground for approximately 40m, turned laterally for 180° and came to rest in that position. The pilot switched off both magnetos and the master switch, then disembarked the aircraft unaided. The aircraft was
destroyed by impact force during the accident sequence and there was no post-impact fire.
Probable cause:
The pilot did not observe a tree in the aircraft’s flight path which caused the aircraft’s left wing to impact the tree. The pilot lost control and the aircraft descended and impacted the ground.
Contributory Factor:
Lack of situational awareness.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.news24.com/witness/news/kzn/pics-kzn-man-survives-aircraft-crash-in-the-midlands-20220208
https://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/2022-02-08-pilot-rushed-to-hospital-after-light-aircraft-crashes-into-kzn-maize-field/
http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/576/medium/IMG_1958m_800_copy.jpg (photo)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Feb-2022 11:46 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 08-Feb-2022 12:55 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Feb-2022 12:56 | RobertMB | Updated [Narrative] |
| 08-Feb-2022 18:13 | harro | Updated [Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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